Blackburn’s Colin Kazim-Richards is under investigation over allegations he made a homophobic gesture (Getty Images)

A dejected Theo Walcott of Arsenal (Getty)

And Wenger said: ‘I couldn’t see how we could lose the game because we had a lot of the ball and they had only one shot.

‘But they defended well and it’s the kind of game you can lose if you make a mistake at the back like we did.’

Frustration: Arsene Wenger (Picture: AFP)

The north London club’s barren run since winning the FA Cup in 2005 will now continue for another year, unless the Gunners can upset Bayern Munich in midweek en route to an improbable Champions League win or set up the even more unlikely scenario of overhauling a 21-point gap to Premier League leaders Manchester United.

But Wenger sought to protect his players from the brewing fan and media backlash, continuing: ‘We have just lost one game today – we don’t need to think too much about the eight season [drought]. The players who played today didn’t play eight seasons ago and we must focus on the next game.’

And on the booing, Wenger added: ‘What do you expect? Should people applaud when you lose a game like that? It’s absolutely normal.’

Meanwhile, Blackburn boss Michael Appleton described the shock result as the best of his short managerial career so far.

‘In my 18-month managerial career, this is definitely the highlight,’ he said.

‘We were happy to allow them more possession – that’s what you expect against Arsenal. But you don’t win games of football without being organised, and we take pride in keeping clean sheets and enjoy defending.’